1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to improved individual health and well-being based upon vibrational energies, and more particularly relates to physical and auditory stimulation of biological tissue through whole sound frequencies and harmonics.
2. Background and Description of Related Art
When a cell of any living organism is confronted with a source of stress, the cell constricts itself to avoid impact. Such response has been referred to as “bracing.”
Substantially, all cells within the human body react the same when they are confronted with a stressor. Whether that stressor is mechanical activity, chemical, electrical, viral, or bacterial, the cell typically reduces its respective size to limit exposure to injury. When the stressor is removed, the cell returns to its normal pre-stress size. If the stressor is not removed, the cell will typically maintain its reduced size until the cell exhausts its internal resources and fails.
The average human body is confronted with numerous stressors, including, for example, sound, vibrations, temperature, pollution, and electromagnetic radiation. Skin and the musculoskeletal system typically absorb such stressors to defend inner workings of the body. However, the same inner workings are also assaulted by ingested and absorbed toxins, which also result in bracing through many systems of the body.
A human mind is also a generator of stressors. The mind interprets interpersonal and social activities and interactions as “threats” to its emotional well-being. Such cognitive threats create hormonal “fight or flight” reactions causing cellular bracing substantially throughout the body.
Cells of the body are connected by a web of connective tissue called the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM provides a space between cells called the interstitial space, where the exchange of nutrients and waste occurs. The ECM is patrolled by large leukocytes exterminating invading viruses, bacteria, and damaged or cancerous cells. As cells brace, they become more rigid and impenetrable to invaders as well as chemicals and nutrients necessary for cell health. Bracing cells pull upon the connective tissues of the ECM, thereby narrowing space between cells. Such diminished space, first prevents the leukocytes from patrolling the space, then diminishes the exchange of waste and nutrients and finally, when the space becomes too narrow, creates an inflammatory process resulting in death of existing cells and malformation of regenerated cells.
The most common experience of bracing is myofascial tension and pain causing secondary arthritis and joint destruction. The average body responds to the external stressors of its environment and the inner stressors of the mind, by tensing muscle fibers. If cells are consistently exposed to similar stressors, the cells will adapt by maintaining the braced state, even when the stressor is absent. Such chronic adaptation is called “habitual bracing.” Habitual bracing defines the new baseline of muscle length within the stretch receptors of the muscle spindles and the proprioception model of the brain. The body “believes” that any less tension leaves it vulnerable. Since the base line within the brain and stretch receptors has been modified, the body no longer notices the “tension” among the cells, thereby shortening and misaligning associated muscles. The habitual bracing of any muscle group within the muscle skeletal system begins a slow degenerative process of the entire organism.
A muscle group that shortens, due to a stressor, may put adjacent muscles and joints into a state of tension, and becomes a secondary stressor to those fibers. Over time, the adjacent muscles and joints may begin to adapt into habitual bracing.
Both movement and stabilization of the body is generated by a harmonizing polarity between agonist and antagonistic muscle groups; one in action, and the other in repose. The habitual bracing and shortening of a group of muscles may also stress its complimentary antagonist. Eventually the baseline and proprioceptive model of the entire body is changed, and may adversely affect joint alignment, range of motion, and balance. It should be noted that as new stressors are added, the muscles respond once again by bracing from their now shortened baseline. And as before, consistent exposure can create a new habitual baseline. At some point, the muscles braces to a length which stimulates neural pain receptors in the muscle. When a nerve is continually over stimulated, the nerve will habitually create a chronic pain response.
Aside from movement of the associated body, muscles are the primary means of propelling blood through veins and fluids through the aforementioned interstitial spaces. Blood moves from the capillary beds and into the veins by pressurized displacement from newly arrived arterial blood. Once in the veins, muscular action and one-way valves move the blood until it reaches larger muscular veins. Inadequate muscular action can begin the process of peripheral artery disease and blood clots.
The motility of the interstitial fluid is the means in which waste is transported into the lymphatic system and ultimately out of the body. Substantially all cellular metabolism and immune response is dependent upon the interstitial flow. Muscles in habitual bracing are often no longer able to adequately expand and contract in a full enough range to efficiently squeeze the interstitial fluids entirely out of the lymph capillaries leaving the body very vulnerable to disease.
As the external muscles change shape and position they also change the internal space and pressures affecting the function of vital organs including the brain.
Bracing along the spine, back, and chest may inhibit respiration, intestinal motility, organ flow, and output. However, bracing has it most profound effects upon the brain.
Bracing of the head and spinal column influences brain functioning in three important ways.
First, the muscles around the skull can inhibit the exchange of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) into the veins of the sub-arachnoid granulations, i.e., the blood/brain gateway/barrier, by increasing venous pressure. Thus, the dissemination of hormones into the blood stream of the body is diminished.
Second, the muscles around the base of the skull and the neck can displace and torque the cervical vertebra applying tension in the meninges, thereby increasing intra-cranial pressure upon the brain, diminishing cognitive functioning, and inhibiting CSF exchange across the blood/brain barrier, and circulation of CSF through the brain's ventricles.
Third, bracing of the spine from lumbar to the skull reduces the flexion pumping action of CSF from the lumbar reservoir into the ventricles of the inner brain called the cerebral-spinal pump (CSP). The CSF circulates within the spaces of the brain disseminating nutrients, hormones, neurotransmitters and eliminating waste. The CSF cleans, nourishes and protects the brain and spinal cord. Clean circulating fluid is essential to insure proper transmission of neurotransmitters across the neuro-synaptic gaps. Waste products prevent transfer and reuptake of neurotransmitters, resulting in cognitive and emotional dysfunction. The cleanliness of the CSF is so important that the body produces three times its volume each day, with old fluid draining into the lymphatic system.
The circulation of CSF by the CSP performs two other functions. In particular, the circulation stimulates the lower brain stem and cerebellum and disseminates non-differeniated stem cells. Non-differentiated stem cells repair damaged regions of the brain and differentiate to create new brain where neural demand is large.
Stressors change the physical environment of the cells. The bracing reaction is in turn a physical reaction to an unhealthy environment. There is no chemical or intercellular mechanism to relax a braced cell. The cells will only relax via mechanical action upon the integrins. The integrins attach to the ECM and pass through the cellular membrane into the nucleus and the DNA itself. Physical, pulsating messages of an expanding relaxing ECM convince the nucleus to let go of its protective tension. For this reason the best way to release physical stress is through movement, stretching and physical manipulations, e.g. massage, rolfing, and the like.
With a simple glance at an anatomy chart one quickly observes that muscle groups and fibers freely pass under, over, and even through each other. Given that stressors do not uniformly affect all muscle fibers equally within a muscle, and that all muscle fibers within a muscle do not receive an equal amount of movement, a pathological condition occurs which we call “binding.” Binding occurs when braced; shortened fibers of a muscle impede another fiber from moving along its normal vector or through its complete contraction/relaxation range. The binding itself becomes a source of stress and low grade inflammation, progressing to a state of actually stopping the movement of some fibers of the muscle. Pathology, historically known as “muscle bound,” occurs when a region of the muscle becomes effectively immobile and sometimes literally bounded by other fibers within it. These regions are also known as “knots” and “trigger points.” Bounded sections of muscles are “splinted” from the actions of movement, exercise, and stretching which would normally release the bracing. The bound sections rarely respond completely to classical “rubbing” or mechanical vibrating massage because the reset stretch receptors only release to the shortened length. The fibers have to be manually released and repositioned by deep tissue therapies, which may include the use of Botox or surgery.
One means for releasing such binding and bracing is through the use of sound. Physical and psychological therapy using sounds is not a new concept. Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician and philosopher, codified tones, intervals, and modes of sound that tended to best heal, unify, and create a balanced mind and body. This work by Pythagoras has become a foundation of western music, science, holistic homeopathic medicine, and religion.
Disciples of Pythagoras mastered a mind and body connection through chanting and lyre playing. In doing so, diseases healed, bodies were conditioned, and minds and bodies were elevated. The ongoing work of Pythagoras' work unlocked secret mathematical proportions and energies of the universe, and therein resulted formulae for health, longevity, physical transformation, and spiritual ascension.
In the current era, vibrational noise has been used to heal individuals, both of mind and body. However, typical such vibrational noise therapy is of a single vibrating frequency.
Vibroacoustic therapy is a known method of playing music or other tones through an object to vibrate an individual's body to relieve pain and/or anxiety, and to induce healing.
What is needed is a device and method for relaxing and promoting healing of an individual through a mixture of vibrational energy and sound.